There is a reason people use Intel and Nvidia all the time... they both run faster, cooler, more efficient, and with less power. Granted they are more expensive but for custom builds people usually buy the best of the best.

Faster, cooler, more efficient, and with less power? If we had no idea what parts were inside these rigs... most, if not all of these custom builders would not be able to tell any difference in real world use. Faster, cooler, more efficient, with less power... are usually only really minor differences that are pretty much unnoticeable in real world. But I understand what you are saying... if we check everything and benchmark the different brands, intel & nvidia do have some little benefits here and there for a minority of their users.

You could have eliminated the sound card, used the onboard audio ports from the motherboard, then used that extra $27.00 to pay for the Sabertooth. Everywhere I read... most audiophile guys say that a sound card is not much better than the motherboard audio. Nice clean build though.

Great job on the build. BTW, be careful on the back plate paint, it will peel off if the heat get too high, I've tested and it did peeled off or crack if the paint cannot handle the heat. Enjoy it it my friend.

hey I was wondering where you got your back plates...for the 280x's? I have been looking for a bit know and cant find any stand alone back plates for those cards...so if you could let me know that would be awesome